The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research announced that Professor Charlene Harrington, PhD, RN, has been awarded a field initiated grant for a two-year study of Developmental Disability Service Utilization and Expenditures in California. This study will analyze statistical data on the formal service utilization and expenditures for the 200,000 individuals with Developmental Disabilities (DD) living at home and in the community who are actively served by the California regional center program. The study focuses on issues access to long term care services including personal care services for individuals with DD. Multivariate analyses will be used to test hypotheses that factors other than needs are major predictors of service use and costs of formal services for individuals with DD. The findings should inform the budgetary and policy debates around the allocation of resources and proposed cutbacks in DD services.